Traffic upgrade being prepared

NILES -- City council has authorized Service Director Sam Natoli to advertise for bids and enter a contract to upgrade city traffic signals. "This is to upgrade 13 signals in the city and tie everything together and put [the system] in a central location in city hall," Mark Hess, city coordinator of engineering, grants and development, said at a council meeting Wednesday. "It's in ODOT's office now, and we're waiting for the OK to bid." Hess hopes the project can be advertised for bids next month. The city received a $1 million federal highway grant administered by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments for the project. The city hired Burgess and Niple of Columbus for about $70,000 to design the project. In 1994, the city installed a signal system on U.S. Route 422. A similar system was installed on Main Street in 1998. The Main Street light system allows firefighters to activate the signals on the way to a scene. Extra pay: Council adopted an ordinance to continue a $200-per-month additional pay for Randy Fabrizio, superintendent of the water and sewer departments. The additional payment is for up to 12 months. Fabrizio's regular monthly salary is $3,721. Last summer, council approved the additional pay for Fabrizio for six months. The move was to comply with an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requirement that the city sewage plant have an operator with a Class IV certification in charge of the plant.